An Introduction to AIDC

Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) is the worldwide industry term which describes the identification and/or direct collection of data into a computer system, programmable logic controller (PLC), or other microprocessor-controlled device without using a keyboard.

At their core, all AIDC technologies support two common goals: to eliminate errors associated with identification and/or data collection and to accelerate the through-put process. As an industry family, AIDC covers six distinct groups of technologies and services. They are: Card Technologies, Data Communications Technologies, Bar Code Technologies, Radio Frequency Identification Technologies, Emerging Technologies, and the Support and Supplies which serve the industry. As an enabling family of business and manufacturing technologies, AIDC takes on another, more universal profile.

And it is all about the customer.
Automatic Identification and Data Capture is, at its best, a conduit for businesses to deliver more into the customer-value equation. If you have opened this book with the notion that AIDC is a background function and will not affect your customers directly, then either prepare to be outmoded, or read on and encounter the bold, new vision of the empowering technologies and strategies which are now making an indelible mark on the way business is being conducted here and around the globe.

A Value-Added Heritage
From its earliest introduction to the marketplace as simple bar code markings and optical readers, AIDC has endeavored to offer business a customer-value component. In checkout lines, scanning reduced waiting time, eliminated manual data entry errors, and aided in inventory management. At the manufacturing level, it accelerated the production line and supported the initial centralized control of Material Requirements Planning (MRP), resulting in reduced costs and more efficient product flow. It also established a core of data management advantages that went far beyond the simple automatic collection of information. And AIDC delivered unprecedented levels of accuracy, speed, and reliability . . . the cornerstones of a movement that would fundamentally change the business/manufacturing continuum.

Technology has advanced exponentially since those early days. Distributed computing and real-time data transfer have taken information out of the company mainframe and placed it within immediate reach of everyone in the enterprise. Real-time data capture and keyless data entry can instantly and simultaneously ring up a retail purchase, accurately adjust in-store inventory, signal the warehouse for replenishment, place a reliable order with the manufacturer, speed the flow of raw goods from suppliers to manufacturers, and follow the manufacturing process through to the delivery of the new product to its destination.

These interfaces between points in the retail/manufacturing supply chain have their counterparts in heavy industry, healthcare, the grocery industry, and many other environments where volumes of data must be managed efficiently and effectively. In each case, their synergistic effect upon the entire enterprise has become the prime motivating factor behind the full implementation of AIDC across the industry.

In essence, AIDC technologies have now become AIDC business strategies. And these intelligent business strategies are well on the road to becoming the standard.

Perception vs. Reality

	Outdated Perception	Operational Reality
AIDC's Primary Data Collection Technology:	bar code	Electronic data capture and keyless data entry via card, radio frequency identification, optical scanning, biometrics, data communications, and other emerging technologies.
AIDC's Primary User Station:	Checkout counter	Virtually every area where data is generated or collected, including retail, warehousing, manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, and education environments.
AIDC's Primary Advantage:	Automatic input of data	The acceleration, optimization and empowerment of the entire business enterprise with information as a critical piece of the strategic decision-making process.
AIDC's Big Drawback:	Scanner errors and their negative impact on the consumer	Scanner errors are virtually a misnomer. When a scanner illustrates an incorrect figure, the usual cause is an error in human data entry or an antiquated system for maintaining the credibility and accuracy of the data within the system. In fact, error rates for bar code scanning have been documented at fewer than one in one million scans. When errors do occur, they are more readily traced to the quality of the printed bar code. Today's biggest drawbacks are doing business with potential partners who do not yet have the technology.
AIDC's Implementation Costs:	A very expensive luxury and a prohibitive cost of doing business with a partner	A cost-effective necessity. Case studies show that AIDC implementation returns its investment very quickly . . . often within 12 to 18 months, and it opens the door to new, stronger partnerships.

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